TEXT: VACLAV HAVEL ADDRESS AT NATO SUMMIT APRIL 23

(Czech President says NATO remains a valid concept) (770)

Washington - Addressing the 50th Anniversary NATO Summit here April
23, Czech President Vaclav Havel said human lives, rights and dignity
-- and the freedom of nations -- are still being threatened and
therefore the collective defense of Euro-Atlantic states remains a
valid concept.

Havel said it was his hope that the Summit would "add strength to the
idea of an equitable peace. . .founded. . .on respect for human rights
and liberties."

He said he believes the recent enlargement of NATO to include the
Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary signifies "the real and definitive
end" of the division of Europe and the fall of the Iron Curtain.
Becoming a member of NATO was one of the most important moments in his
country's history, Havel said; "For the first time ever, it is
becoming part of a great security alliance which is based on the
equality of its members. . .and a shared determination to defend their
shared values."

The Czech President thanked earlier NATO members for opening the
Alliance. "I do so not only as a representative of my country and as a
European, but also as an inhabitant of this planet who desires that
there be peace among the people, as well as within their souls; and,
who has understood that such peace can hardly be attained without the
readiness to defend it against the forces of evil."

Following is a text of his address:

(Begin text)

AT THE COMMEMORATIVE EVENT OF NATO'S 50TH ANNIVERSARY

Mellon Auditorium,

Washington D.C.

23 Apr. 1999

Address Given by Vaclav Havel,

the President of the Czech Republic

Presidents, Prime Ministers, Ladies and gentlemen,

At the signing of the Washington Treaty, the fundamental document of
the North Atlantic Alliance, President Truman said that if this
document had existed earlier it could have prevented two World Wars.

The Alliance has been in existence for fifty years now and it is
beyond all doubt that this association of Western democracies, founded
on solidarity, has contributed to the fact that there has been no new
world war during this period.

The fact that a former powerful strategic adversary has disappeared
from the scene does not, however, mean that in the world of today
human lives, human rights, human dignity and the freedom of nations
are no longer in danger. They are, unfortunately, still being
threatened, and collective defence of the democratic states of the
Euro-Atlantic sphere of civilization, therefore, still remains a valid
concept. It is merely necessary to identify all the new types of
dangers and to learn to effectively resist them. It is my hope that
this meeting will help us to advance in this direction, and will thus
add strength to the idea of an equitable peace, that is, peace founded
not on a violation of humanity but, on the contrary, on respect for
human rights and liberties.

This is the first summit of the Alliance that is attended by
representatives of its three new members -- countries that were
members of the Warsaw Pact no more than ten years ago. The enlargement
of the Alliance, which has begun with their admission, signifies the
real and definitive end of the imposed division of Europe and the
world, the real and definitive fall of the Iron Curtain, and the real
and definitive demise of the so-called Yalta arrangement. Let us hope
that we are thus entering a world in which the fates of nations are
not decided by powerful foreign dictators but by the nations
themselves.

To my country, this is one of the most important moments in its long
and dramatic history. For the first time ever, it is becoming part of
a great security alliance which is based on the equality of its
members, solidarity amongst them and a shared determination to defend
their shared values.

On behalf of the Czech Republic, I hereby declare that we are
conscious not only of the assurances we have received with this
affiliation but also of the responsibilities which it entails.

I thank all the earlier members for their decision to open the
Alliance. I do so not only as a representative of my country and as a
European, but also as an inhabitant of this planet who desires that
there be peace among the people, as well as within their souls; and,
who has understood that such peace can hardly be attained without the
readiness to defend it against the forces of evil.